MaintainX vs UpKeep: A 2026 Comparison of Pricing, Features, and Support
MaintainX and UpKeep are both mobile-first CMMS platforms aimed at frontline maintenance teams, but they differ in a few areas.
MaintainX offers a free-forever tier and currently holds the higher third-party satisfaction scores. UpKeep offers its own IoT sensor hardware (UpKeep Edge) and a broader module lineup spanning safety, learning, and fleet.
Teams prioritizing cost and mobile technician adoption lean toward MaintainX. Teams wanting hardware and operations modules bundled with their CMMS lean toward UpKeep.
What changed in 2026: Autodesk acquires MaintainX
On May 28, 2026, Autodesk announced a definitive agreement to acquire MaintainX in a deal valued at approximately $3.6 billion, Autodesk's largest acquisition to date. The deal closed on August 3, 2026.
MaintainX now operates inside a new unit called Autodesk Operations Solutions, alongside Autodesk's existing Tandem digital twin platform, Fusion Operations, and FlexSim.
For buyers actively comparing MaintainX and UpKeep, this is worth factoring into a decision in a few ways: roadmap direction now runs through a much larger parent company with its own operations strategy; pricing structure over a multi-year contract could shift as MaintainX integrates into Autodesk's broader commercial terms; and support continuity is worth confirming directly with MaintainX's team during any active evaluation, since post-acquisition integrations sometimes change account structures.
None of this is a prediction about what will happen, but it’s a set of questions worth asking MaintainX directly if this acquisition affects your evaluation. If the acquisition is enough to reopen your shortlist, our roundup of MaintainX alternatives covers other options.
MaintainX vs UpKeep at a glance
Pricing compared
MaintainX
- Basic: $0, free forever. Capped at 2 work orders with attached procedures per month, 2 active repeating work orders, 5 work orders with images per month, and 1 month of Advanced Analytics access.
- Essential: $20/user/month billed annually, $25 billed monthly. Unlimited repeating work orders, unlimited work orders with images, 3 work orders with procedures per month, 3 months of analytics access.
- Premium: $65/user/month billed annually, $75 billed monthly. Unlimited procedures and analytics, meter-based maintenance, parts inventory, purchase orders, time and cost tracking, open REST API access.
- Enterprise: custom pricing. Asset Health Insights, Resource Planning, escalation protocols, IoT sensor integrations, SSO, multi-site management, MaintainX Assist, Report Builder, and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
UpKeep
- Essential: $24/user/month. Unlimited work orders and locations, Nova AI with 250 credits/month.
- Premium: $55/user/month. Adds UpKeep Studio, PM scheduling, custom checklists, parts and inventory with costing, time and labor tracking, 30-day analytics history, and 500 Nova AI credits/month.
- Professional: custom quote. Adds mobile offline mode, an external request portal, full analytics history, asset lifecycle tracking, signature capture, and 750 Nova AI credits/month.
- Enterprise: custom quote. Adds multi-site module support, workflow automation, PO management, API and custom integrations, SSO, custom roles, and 1,000 Nova AI credits/month.
- Implementation is a separate, published cost. Training Only is $500, Quickstart (implementation and training within 45 days) is $1,500, Advanced (expanded training) is $5,000, and Enterprise implementation is custom-quoted.
Third-party ratings
On G2, MaintainX holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating. UpKeep holds 4.5 out of 5. On Capterra, MaintainX holds 4.8 from 1,056 reviews, and UpKeep holds 4.6.
For reference, both G2 and Capterra list Limble at 4.8, and G2 lists Limble as a top alternative to both products in this category.
MaintainX in depth
Strengths: mobile-first design with solid technician adoption, digital procedures, real-time in-app messaging included on every plan, safety checklists, voice-to-work-order capture, AI-generated work summaries, and a free tier for small teams.
Weaknesses: work orders are limited to one asset each on lower tiers (multi-asset work orders need a higher plan); purchase orders can't be linked directly to work orders; work-order form customization is limited and doesn't support bulk edits; procedure drag-and-drop reordering is described by reviewers as "extremely finicky"; reporting depth is limited for teams wanting deeply custom insights. Some reviewers report data-quality issues migrating from legacy systems, and reviewers have noted unannounced UI changes between releases.
UpKeep in depth
Strengths: UpKeep has expanded well beyond a standalone CMMS. Its current module lineup spans Maintenance, EHS (safety and compliance), Learn, Edge (sensors), Fleet, and Studio, plus Nova AI across the platform.
Weaknesses: price is the most common objection. There's a real learning curve during initial setup; reviewers report bugs and instability following updates. PM notification logic is described as unintuitive by some users. There are periodic complaints about support and account-management responsiveness, and some reviewers report Android-specific issues not present on iOS. If price or setup effort is the deal-breaker, see our list of UpKeep alternatives.
Note: UpKeep Edge is UpKeep's proprietary IoT sensor line, covering temperature, humidity, vibration, current, and water detection through a 4G LTE gateway. This is a differentiator against MaintainX, which has no native sensor hardware of its own and instead relies on third-party IoT integrations at the Enterprise tier.
Which should you choose?
Choose MaintainX if cost and mobile technician adoption are your top priorities, you want a free tier to start with no financial commitment, and your team's core need is fast, simple work-order creation and completion instead of deep reporting customization.
Choose UpKeep if you want IoT condition-monitoring hardware bundled with your CMMS, you're interested in adjacent modules like safety/EHS or fleet management under one platform, and you're comfortable with a higher entry price in exchange for those extra features.
For a buyer comparing these two specifically, there’s a third option. If you need multi-location standardization or 21 CFR compliance, Limble covers both on its Enterprise plan, and MTBF/MTTR downtime reporting is included on every plan. See Limble’s pricing and the head-to-heads with MaintainX and UpKeep.
FAQs
Q: Does MaintainX support enterprise-scale, multi-site deployments?
A: Yes. MaintainX's Enterprise tier includes multi-site management tools and reporting, Global Parts, and Global Procedures for standardizing across locations. For teams needing deeper multi-site asset hierarchies and standardization specifically, Limble is also built around this use case. Check out Limble's enterprise solutions.
Q: Is MaintainX or UpKeep compliant with 21 CFR Part 11?
A: Neither vendor states that its CMMS is a validated 21 CFR Part 11 system. UpKeep is explicit: it says UpKeep Quality is not a validated system under Part 11 and directs GxP pharma and medical device teams to dedicated validated platforms. MaintainX publishes content on how a CMMS supports Part 1–related record-keeping, including audit trails, timestamps and electronic records. But it doesn’t state on its product or compliance pages that MaintainX is Part 11 compliant or validated.
Under Part 11, validation is ultimately the regulated company’s responsibility. If it’s a requirement for you, ask each vendor directly for their audit trail, e-signature and validation documentation before shortlisting. Limble includes 21 CFR compliance capabilities on its Enterprise plan.
Q: What is the main difference between MaintainX and UpKeep?
A: The clearest differences are pricing structure (MaintainX has a free tier; UpKeep does not) and hardware (UpKeep sells its own IoT sensors under the Edge product line; MaintainX integrates with third-party sensors instead).
Q: Is UpKeep more expensive than MaintainX?
A: At list price, UpKeep’s entry plan costs slightly more ($24 vs. $20/user/month annual for MaintainX). The bigger gap is where PM scheduling starts: MaintainX includes unlimited recurring work orders at $20, while UpKeep’s PM scheduling begins on Premium at $55. UpKeep also charges published implementation fees ($500-$5,000). MaintainX's Premium tier ($65) costs more than UpKeep’s Premium ($55), so the cheaper option depends on which features you need.
Q: Which has a better mobile app?
A: Reviewers and third-party sources consistently credit MaintainX with mobile technician adoption and a more polished mobile-first design. UpKeep's mobile app is solid but has more reported bugs following updates, and some reviewers note Android-specific issues. Limble’s mobile app includes offline mode on its Premium+ plan and above.
Q: Does UpKeep have IoT sensors?
A: Yes. UpKeep Edge is UpKeep's own proprietary sensor line, covering temperature, humidity, vibration, current, and water detection with a 4G LTE gateway. MaintainX has no equivalent native hardware and instead relies on third-party IoT sensor integrations, available at its Enterprise tier.
Q: Does MaintainX have a free plan?
A: Yes. MaintainX's Basic plan is free forever, with caps on repeating work orders, procedure-attached work orders, and analytics access. UpKeep does not offer a free-forever tier; it offers a free trial only.
Q: What are the most common complaints about MaintainX and UpKeep?
A: For MaintainX, reviewers most often cite the one-asset-per-work-order limitation on lower tiers, limited work order form customization, and unstable procedure reordering. For UpKeep, the most common complaints are price, a learning curve during setup, bugs following product updates, and support responsiveness.
Q: What does Autodesk's acquisition mean for MaintainX customers?
A: Autodesk completed its $3.6 billion acquisition of MaintainX on August 3, 2026, folding it into a new Autodesk Operations Solutions unit. For current and prospective MaintainX customers, the practical considerations are roadmap direction under new ownership, how pricing may evolve over multi-year contracts, and support continuity through the transition. These are open questions worth raising directly with MaintainX's sales team.
*This page is not affiliated with MaintainX or UpKeep; all data was gathered from public sources in October 2026.